Personal hydration system

ABSTRACT

A personal hydration system for use by military personnel in environments containing nuclear, biological and chemical agents. This system includes a bladder, a neck, a cap having an outlet port and a hose with a connector. The bladder has no sharp or small radius internal corners and may be turned inside out through an oversized fill port to ensure complete cleaning. The cap is sealed by a primary seal, wherein a thicker portion of the bladder is trapped between the cap and the neck, and a secondary seal, wherein seals are squeezed between the neck and the bladder&#39;s interior. The cap includes an outlet port, thereby decreasing the possible exposure sites. The connector is adapted so that it may attach itself to various other equipment, such as gas masks or mouthpieces. A user wearing thick gloves will be capable of operating the entire system, including the cap and the connectors.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No.11/432,236, filed May 11, 2006, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to systems for providingdrinking fluid to a user and more particularly to a personal hydrationsystem capable of being used by military personnel, police, security ormembers of the public who may find themselves in hazardous environmentalconditions, an environment which may include nuclear, biological andchemical agents.

BACKGROUND

Canteens and water bottles of various configurations have long beenutilized to create a portable source of drinking water and otherhydrating fluids. While functional, they require a significant amount ofmanual manipulation and distraction from the activities at hand.

More recently, a number of improvements in hydration systems have beendevised. These improvements are based on a flexible bladder connected toa tube and a shut-off device that allows the user to drink at will withno or minimal distraction and use of the hands. These bladders are oftenstrapped in carriers worn on the back, creating a small pressure thatenables the drinking fluid to be dispensed with little or no sucking.The result of these hydration systems is that they facilitate hydrationwithout requiring the user to pause in activities such as bicycling,hiking, skiing, etc.

These same features have also proved to be useful to military personnelwho often face the need to remain hydrated while being engaged inphysical activities. Hydration systems designed for the recreationalmarket have been utilized by military personnel and a certain amount ofcustomization has been done to facilitate that usage.

While improvements have been made to the personal hydration system,there are still numerous drawbacks for use of these personal hydrationsystems in a military setting. One drawback of the prior art personalhydration systems is that they are difficult to clean and do not allowthe user to visually inspect the cleanliness of the systems. Anotherdrawback of the prior art personal hydration systems is that the systemsare difficult to operate when the user is wearing thick gloves. A thirddrawback of the prior art personal hydration systems is that there aretoo many lineal sealing points which may provide access to nuclear,biological and chemical agents into the hydration systems. Yet, anotherdrawback of the prior art systems is that the bladders have cornerswhich form stress joints and may allow for nuclear, biological andchemical agents to enter into the hydration systems. Another drawback ofthe prior art personal hydrating systems is that the users will find itdifficult to determine whether the cap is properly sealed beforeoperating the hydration systems in unsafe environmental conditions.These are just a few of the numerous drawbacks of the prior art personalhydration systems.

It is a desire of the present invention to provide an improved personalhydration system that is easier to clean, allows the user to visuallydetermine that the system is clean, operable with thick gloves, hasfewer lineal sealing points, has fewer stress joints and has improvedsealing of the cap so as to enable the user to determine that the cap issealed properly. The present invention uses a connector that eliminatesthe lock-ring, thus allowing the user to connect the improved personalhydration system to other equipment by simply pulling and pushing theconnector to the equipment.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the improved personal hydration system, which may beused by military personnel, includes an elastomeric bladder that may betranslucent, a neck, a cap having an outlet port, an internal drinkingtube, and a hose with a connector at one end. The improved personalhydration system is capable of being used in environments containingnuclear, biological and chemical agents. The bladder is flexible and hasa shape that has no sharp or small radius internal corners. In anembodiment, the bladder has a fill port located at an angle in thebladder's top portion which is oversized so that the bladder may beturned inside out for cleaning purposes. In another embodiment, the fillport is not angled.

The neck has deformable seals positioned concentrically along its basewhich attaches to the internal side of the bladder's fill port. Athicker portion of the bladder, the portion which is slightly thicker atthe rim of the fill port, is exposed along the top side of the neck'sbase adjacent to the lower end of the neck's threaded section so that itmay act as a primary seal when the cap is attached to the neck. The rimof the cap is tapered at its bottom side so that it can properly form aseal with the thicker portion of the bladder trapped between the cap andthe neck. The cap also has external ribs to facilitate a user operatingthe cap while wearing gloves. The cap has an outlet port attached to thetop side of the cap, thereby decreasing the number of parts and thepossible exposure sites to the environment. As the cap is turned forclosing, the cap is sealed by two methods. The primary seal is where thebladder is trapped between the cap and the neck and is tightened as thecap is closed. The secondary seal is where the deformable seals aresqueezed between the neck and the bladder's inner surface.

The internal drinking tube attaches to the outlet port on the cap'sinner side and extends the bladder's length along its interior side. Thehose is connected to the outlet port on the cap's exterior side and hasa connector attached to the hose's other end. The connector is adaptedso that it may receive a connection from various other equipment, whichincludes, but is not limited to, a mouthpiece or a gas mask.

The foregoing has outlined the features and technical advantages of thepresent invention in order that the detailed description of theinvention that follows may be better understood. Additional features andadvantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form thesubject of the claims of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and aspects of the present inventionwill be best understood with reference to the following description of aspecific embodiment of the invention, when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an improved personal hydration system in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1A illustrates an improved personal hydration system connected to amouth-piece in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 1B depicts an exploded cross-sectional view of the primary seal,which is created by a thicker portion of the bladder, the cap and theneck, as shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a side angular view of a neck of the improved personalhydration system in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of a cap of the improved personalhydration system in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a frontal view of an insulated cover holding theimproved personal hydration system in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a view of a mouthpiece attached to the personalhydration system in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a view of a shut-off valve in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in theart to make and use the invention. The general principles describedherein may be applied to embodiments and applications other than thosedetailed below without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims. The presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but isto be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles andfeatures disclosed herein.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods, and devices for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention disclosed hereinbelowdescribes an improved personal hydration system 10 specifically designedfor operation by military personnel in hazardous environmentalconditions, which may include nuclear, biological and chemical agents.The improved personal hydration system 10 has been designed with severalimprovements so that it may be used by anyone, including non-militarypersonnel, who wishes to take advantage of its improvements, withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Theimproved personal hydration system 10 includes a bladder 20 for storingpotable drinking fluid and has a fill port 22 located at the top portionof the bladder 20, a neck 30 (FIG. 2) installed at the fill port 22, acap 40 having an outlet port 50, wherein the cap 40 is removablyattached to the neck 30 (FIG. 2), an internal drinking tube 80 connectedto the cap's 40 inner side and extending therefrom within the bladder 20to the bladder's bottom, a hose 60 having an adjacent end 62 and adistal end 64, wherein the adjacent end 62 is removably connected to theoutlet port 50, a shut-off valve 100 slideable along the length of thehose, and a connector 70 attached to the hose 60 at the distal end 64.In an embodiment the connector 70 is used to attach a mouthpiece 120 viathe hose 60 attached to the distal end 64.

In an embodiment, the bladder 20 has a fill port 22 located at an anglealong its top portion. The bladder 20 is a molded elastomeric bladder,preferably made of silicone and coated with parylene. The wall thicknessof bladder 20 is uniform throughout, with the exception that the wallthickness at the fill port 22 is slightly greater. Silicone is aninherently translucent elastomer which naturally inhibits biologicalgrowth. There are several other benefits for using silicone as theconstruction material. Another benefit is that silicone is easy to makesuitable for potable water. A third benefit is that silicone has ahistory of application in products which must be resistant toatmospheric contaminants, which include nuclear, biological and chemicalagents. Another benefit is that it is easily formulated with excellentstrength and very high ultimate elongation, which allows it to resistshock and deformation extremely well. Although silicone with a paryleneliner has been shown as the construction material in this embodiment,other materials that are waterproof and resistant to nuclear, biologicaland chemical agents, such as chlorobutyl and other butyl materials maybe used without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentinvention.

Other illustrative non-exclusive examples of chemically resistantmaterials for constructing components of bladder 20 include thermosetepoxies such as vulcanized butyl rubber and chloro-isobutene-isoprenerubber (chloro-butyl), thermoplastic elastomers such as Sentoprenerubber, nylon, ABS, polyurethane, polypropylene, polyethylene. Thechoice of materials for a particular component include considerations ofthe expected forced to be applied to the component, structuralrequirements, and flexibility requirements, and accordingly may varyfrom component to component and system to system. For the inside of thebladder 20, colored material, of the same elastomer formulation as theoutside, is contemplated. A multilayer design is contemplated such thatsurface degradation would not affect the performance of the system.Since the inside and outside layers are merely versions of the samebasic elastomer formulation and are applied as part of the samemanufacturing step, the resulting multi-layered construction remainsessentially homogeneous. Thus, the outer layer would also be potablewater compatible and formulated for low taste as the inner layer and theinner layer would also incorporate nuclear, biological and chemicalagent (NBC) impermeability as the outerlayer. Further, nano-fillers suchas nano-clays are also contemplated to be incorporated in the bladder 20to enhance the impermeability of the elastomers used.

A multi-layered dip molding process is used for manufacturing thehydration system 10 of the present invention. This process allows forthe use of different versions of the same basic material formanufacturing the different layers of the bladder 20. The exterior ofthe bladder 20 may be made of carbon black. The inner colored layer ofthe bladder 20 may be of a lighter color. Additionally, themulti-layered dip molding process results in the hydration system of thepresent invention being significantly lighter in weight as compared toother commercially available products. Hence, the thinner and lighterproduct of the present invention provides greater conformity to theuser, minimizing space for a given water volume

The bladder 20 is molded as an elliptical shape, with a cylindrical bodyand spherical ends, having no sharp or small radius internal corners.Small radius internal corners are internal corners having a radius ofabout 1.5 mm or less. In this embodiment, the bladder 20 has internalcorners with a radius of about 2.5 mm. This shape removes potentialstress points and areas capable of trapping debris. The bladder 20 mayvary in shape and size depending upon the volume of drinking fluid to becarried by the user and the intended use of the improved personalhydration system 10, while still remaining within the scope of thepresent invention. The bladder 20 may come in other shapes, such asround, oval, cubical, rectangular, triangular, etc., so long as thereare no sharp or small radius internal corners, without departing fromthe scope and spirit of the present invention. Also, although thisembodiment shows the radius for the internal corner being about 2.5 mm,the radius may be larger without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe present invention.

In this embodiment, the bladder 20 needs to meet certain testing andphysical requirements because of its potential use in a militarysetting. First, the bladder 20 must be able to hold at least 70 ouncesof drinking fluid at a temperature in the range from about −60° F. toabout 160° F. The present invention, however, is not limited to such asize, as different sizes can be provided to hold more or less fluid inthe bladder 20 as needed. The bladder 20 will be designed to normallystore drinking fluid at a temperature in the range from about 0° F. toabout 125° F. The bladder 20 should also be able to support a 500 lbdistributed load and be able to withstand a 30-foot drop while filledwith chilled water at a temperature range from about 32° F. to about 40°F. Also, there should be no air leakage through the bladder 20 when itis exposed to about a 5 psi pressure. Finally, the bladder 20 shouldprovide 24 hour protection from exposure to nuclear, biological andchemical agents based on a 15 liter/day consumption rate and 70 ouncesbladder 20 capacity. These requirements may be higher or lower withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The materials and construction of the improved personal hydration system10 will enable a user to use it for multiple purposes, including inenvironments containing nuclear, biological and chemical agents (NBC),conventional warfare, training use and daily use. With the presentinvention, there is no need to use different products for differenttypes of activities.

The fill port 22 in this embodiment, which is circular in shape, islocated at the top portion of the bladder 20 at an angle so as to reducethe profile of bladder 20 while the cap 40 is engaged to the neck 30(FIG. 2). The location of the fill port 22 may be at other locations onthe bladder 20 without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent invention. In an embodiment, the fill port may be located moreto the end of the bladder in a centered position to avoid issues likedirectional-specific hose connections that can cause hose kinkingproblems and a reduction in the overall effective length of the hose.The shape of fill port 22 may also vary without departing from the scopeand spirit of the present invention. The wall thickness of fill port 22is slightly greater than the rest of the bladder 20 because it acts asan anti-extrusion device and also provides an adequate sealing area whenit is trapped between the cap 40 and the neck 30. The fill port 22 isalso oversized, thus facilitating the cleaning and drying of the bladder20 by allowing the bladder 20 to be drawn inside out through the fillport 22. This oversized fill port 22 also enables the user to moreeasily fill the bladder 20 with drinking fluid or ice. Finally, sincethe fill port 22 is oversized, the cap 40 will also be larger, therebyallowing the user to operate the cap 40 while wearing thick gloves.

As shown in FIG. 2, the neck 30 has a base 32 having a plurality of arcs34 along its perimeter and a circular threaded section 36 protrudingoutward therefrom. A plurality of deformable seals 38 are placedconcentrically around the top side of the base 32 of the neck 30, suchthat it traverses along each of the plurality of arcs 34. Thesedeformable seals 38 create a seal between the base 32 of the neck 30 andthe interior of the bladder 20 (FIG. 1) at the fill port 22 (FIG. 1),once the neck 30 has been installed properly to the bladder 20 (FIG. 1).Once installed properly and the seal is created, the neck 30 is nolonger removable from the bladder 20 (FIG. 1). As the cap 40 (FIG. 1) istightened upon the neck 30, the result is a tighter seal. The pluralityof arcs 34 provides an increased surface area of the base 30 which islocated on the interior side of bladder 20 (FIG. 1), thereby preventingthe neck area from being pulled out away from the sealing area as wellas creating a tighter seal between the neck 30 and the bladder 20(FIG. 1) when force is applied, i.e. pulling or tightening of the cap40. The overall seal of cap 40 (FIG. 1) and neck 30 to bladder 20(FIG. 1) consists of a single point with approximately 8.5 lineal inchesof seal. There are a total of four sealing points which have about 10.4lineal inches of seal, thus minimizing the risk of ingress of nuclear,biological and chemical agents. The four sealing points are the sealscreated between the fill port 22 of the bladder 20 (FIG. 1) fill port 22and the cap 40 (FIG. 1), between the outlet port 50 (FIG. 1) and thehose 60 (FIG. 1), between the hose 60 (FIG. 1) and the connector 70(FIG. 1) and between the connector 70 (FIG. 1) and the equipmentconnector (not shown). The design of connector 70 may also incorporatean additional sealing point, which would add about 2 lineal inches ofseal, thus totaling 12.4 lineal inches of seal for the improved personalhydration system 10 (FIG. 1).

In this embodiment, the neck 30 needs to meet certain testing andphysical requirements because of its potential use in a militarysetting. The neck 30 must be able to support three times the weight ofthe bladder 40 (FIG. 1) filled with drinking fluid. This requirement maybe higher or lower without departing from the scope and spirit of thepresent invention.

As seen in FIG. 1A, the neck 30 has deformable seals 38 positionedconcentrically along its base 32 which attaches to the internal side ofthe fill port 22 of bladder 20. A thicker portion of the bladder 20, theportion which is slightly thicker at the rim of the fill port 22, isexposed along the top side of the base 32 of the neck 30, adjacent tothe lower end of the threaded section 36 of neck 30 so that it may actas a primary seal when the cap 40 is attached to the neck 30. The rim ofthe cap 40 is shown to be tapered at its bottom side so that it canproperly form a seal with the thicker portion of the bladder 20 trappedbetween the cap 40 and the neck 30. Thus, as the cap 40 is turned forclosing, the cap 40 is sealed by two methods. The primary seal is wherethe thicker portion of the bladder 20 is trapped between the cap 40 andthe neck 30 and is tightened as the cap 40 is closed, therebyeliminating the need for separate o-rings or other sealing devices. Thesecondary seal is where the deformable seals 38 are squeezed between theneck 30 and the inner surface of bladder 20. These sealing techniquesserve to lower cost, minimize the number of components and eliminate thepossibility of the seals becoming dislodged and lost. The threadedsection 36 has a large pitch with a small profile so that the cap 40 mayfully seal with a short rotation.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cap 40 is tapered at its bottom side and hasexternal ribs 42 located along its side, an outlet port 50 located onits top side and threads (not shown) located along the interior sides ofthe cap 40. The cap 40, when engaged to the neck 30 (FIG. 2), isdesigned to minimize its profile above the surface of bladder 20(FIG. 1) so as to minimize the possibility of snagging and facilitatethe roll over of the user. The cap 40 is also attached to the bladder 20(FIG. 1) so that it does not get lost or misplaced. Although thisembodiment depicts the cap 40 being attached to the bladder 20 (FIG. 1),the cap 40 may be completely removable from the bladder 20 (FIG. 1)without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The external ribs 42 are substantially vertical along the external sideof cap 40 and serve a dual purpose. First, the external ribs 42facilitate the user to turn the cap 40, even while wearing thick gloves.Secondly, the external ribs 42 strengthen the integrity of the cap 40.Although this embodiment shows the external ribs 42 being substantiallyvertical, they may also be angled without departing from the scope andspirit of the present invention.

The outlet port 50, preferably a hose barb, is integrally molded ontothe center of the exterior top side of the cap 40. Although thisembodiment shows that the outlet port 50 is integral to the cap 40, theoutlet port 50 may be removably attached to the cap 40 without departingfrom the scope and spirit of the present invention. Also, although thisembodiment locates the outlet port 50 onto the center of the cap 40, theoutlet port 50 may be located elsewhere on the cap 40, including itssides, without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentinvention. Some of the advantages of having the outlet port 50 moldedonto the cap 40 are (1) the number of components are reduced therebylimiting the cost and the number of leak points, (2) the length of thehose 60 (FIG. 1) is reduced by the length of the bladder 20 (FIG. 1)thereby reducing the surface area exposed to nuclear, biological andchemical agents, (3) the exterior is easier to clean, and (4) iteliminates tubes and attachment outcroppings at the bottom of thebladder 20 (FIG. 1) which allows for easier insertion into an insulatedcover 90 (FIG. 4).

Threads 44 (FIG. 1A) having a large pitch are located along the interiorsides of the cap 40. The large pitch enables a user to seal the cap 40with a short rotation. The threads 44 (FIG. 1A) are designed to be selflocking to prevent accidental loosening. As the cap 40 is turned forsealing, the cap 40 eventually hits a dead stop on the rim of thethreaded section 36 (FIG. 2) of neck 30 (FIG. 2) to create a positivehard stop of rotation to enable the user to determine that the cap 40 isfully closed and sealed.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the internal drinking tube 80 attaches to theoutlet port 50 on the inner side of cap 40 and extends the length ofbladder 20 along its interior. The internal drinking tube 80 may beconstructed from any suitable material for dispensing potable water,which includes, but is not limited to, polypropylene and polyethylene.These materials may be light and inexpensive compared to silicone withparylene coating used for the bladder 20 since the internal drinkingtube 80 is already protected by the bladder 20 from nuclear, biologicaland chemical agents that may be present in the atmosphere.

The hose 60 has an adjacent end 62 and a distal end 64, wherein theadjacent end 62 is removably connected to the outlet port 50 on theexterior side of cap 40. In this embodiment, the hose 60 is constructedof the same or similar material as the material of bladder 20. Thismaterial ensures that nuclear, biological, and chemical agents do notpenetrate into the improved personal hydration system 10 via the hose60. Although this embodiment shows that the material of hose 60 is thesame or similar material as the material of bladder 20, the material ofhose 60 may be completely dissimilar depending upon its applicationwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Also shown in FIG. 1, the connector 70 has a male end 72 and a femaleend 74 having a guiding rod 76. The male end 72 is removably attached tothe distal end 64 of hose 60. Once attached, the user may remove theconnector 70 from the hose 60 by pulling, and possibly twisting, hard.The female end 74 has a guiding rod 76 which attaches to an equipmentconnector (not shown). As the equipment connector approaches the guidingrod 76, it snaps into the guiding rod 76 via a pushing force. The usermay disconnect the equipment connector from the connector 70 by pullingthe two apart and can easily reconnect it to another equipment connector(not shown). The connector is adapted so that it may attach itself tovarious equipment, such as gas masks or mouthpieces. One of theadvantages of using this connector 70 is that the user may operate itwhile wearing thick gloves, i.e., when the user is performing militaryduty and wearing thick gloves is a requirement.

In an embodiment, the distal end of the hose is connected via theconnector 70 to a mouthpiece 120 such that the hose 60 is in fluidcommunication with mouthpiece 120. Mouthpiece 120 is sized to bereceived within the user's mouth to deliver fluid to the user.Mouthpiece 120 is shown in more detail in FIG. 5. Mouthpiece 120includes a neck 121 which is connected to and in fluid communicationwith end 64 of hose 60 via the connector 70. As shown in FIG. 5, neck121 is fit over the distal end 64 of hose 60 and forms a watertightseal. It should be noted that the mouthpiece can be slipped on and offthe hose 60 for cleaning or maintenance. Mouthpiece 120 further includesa head 122, which typically is of larger cross-section than neck 121 andwhich includes a dispensing face 123 through which fluid is selectivelydispensed from the mouthpiece. Mouthpiece 120 also includes a detachablecap 124 attached to the neck 121 via an attaching means 125.

An example of the mouthpiece 120 is a bite-actuated, or mouth-actuated,mouthpiece 120 that it is selectively deformed from a sealed (or closed)position, in which fluid is prevented from being dispensed from themouthpiece, to a dispensing (or open) position, in which the user maydraw fluid from the reservoir through the tube and mouthpiece when theuser compresses the mouthpiece with the user's teeth or lips.Bite-actuated mouthpieces are often biased or otherwise configured toautomatically return to the closed position when a user is not exertingforce upon the mouthpiece to configure the mouthpiece to its closedposition. Another example of the mouthpiece 120 is the pop-up stylevalve. Pop up valves are usually provided on a cap with threadattachments so that they can connect to the threaded spout of thebottle. The valve is popped open to provide a flow path. The valve hasto be pushed down to close the flow path. This requires action by a userto close the valve. If left open, the contents of a container could leakif tipped over.

FIG. 6 shows a detailed view of the shut-off valve 100. The shut-offvalve 100 is placed along the length of the hose between the outlet portand the connector and is slideable along this length. The hose 60 isthreaded slidably through the shut-off valve 100 in a direction normalto the valve and extending within the shut-off valve 100 across itswidth and is characterized by a pair of outwardly extending oppositelongitudinal formations between the ends over at least the length of theportion of the hose 60. The shut-off valve 100 controls the flow offluid through the hose 60. Such valves control or terminate fluid flowby constricting or pinching the line, thus maintaining fluid underpressure within the line and upstream of the valve.

Although the improved personal hydration system 10 could be usedseparately, FIG. 4 illustrates the insulated cover 90 with the improvedpersonal hydration system 10 secured within it. The insulated cover 90would have a flap 92 going from the front, an open position, to theback, a closed position. The flap 92 can be opened to provide access tothe cap 40 for filling with drinking fluid without removal of thebladder 20 from the insulated cover 90. There are numerous otherbenefits that are provided when using the insulated cover 90. First, inits closed position, the insulated cover 90 can protect the surface ofbladder 20 and cap 40 by further limiting exposure to nuclear,biological and chemical agents and facilitating clean-up from exposureto the same. This same feature would also provide an additional layer ofphysical protection for the bladder 20 and keep it cleaner than if theinsulated cover 90 was not used. Finally, the use of the insulated cover90 in conjunction with the low profile of cap 40 allows for lesssnagging potential and reduces the impediment for a user to roll over onhis back.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, these descriptions are not meant to be construed in alimiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, aswell as alternative embodiments of the invention, will become apparentto persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of theinvention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that theconception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilizedas a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying outthe same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realizedby those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims. It is therefore, contemplated that the claims willcover any such modifications or embodiments that fall within the truescope of the invention.

1. An improved personal hydration system comprising: an elastomericbladder, for containing a drinking fluid, having an oversized fill port,wherein the bladder can be turned inside out through the fill port forcleaning and inspection purposes; a neck having a base and a threadedportion extending from the base, wherein the base is attached to theinterior side of the bladder at the fill port; a cap that is removablyattached to the threaded portion of the neck; an outlet port located ata position on the improved personal hydration system such that theoutlet port has access to the drinking fluid within the bladder; a hosehaving an adjacent end and a distal end, wherein the adjacent end isattached to the outlet port and the distal end is attached to aconnector; and a shut-off device moveably positioned on the hose betweenthe outlet port and the connector.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein thebladder is constructed of silicone and has a parylene coating.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the bladder is constructed of butyl rubber.4. The system of claim 3, wherein said butyl rubber incorporatesnano-fillers for improving impermeability.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein said nano-filler is a nano-clay.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the outlet port is located on the exterior side of the cap. 7.The system of claim 1, wherein the threaded portion of the neck has alarge pitch.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the rim of the cap istapered.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the cap comprises externalribs located around the side of the cap.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein at least one deformable seal is placed between the top side ofthe base of the neck and the interior side of the bladder at the fillport.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the base comprises a pluralityof arcs to provide a greater surface area for sealing and preventing theneck from being dislodged from the bladder while a user pulls on theneck.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein a thicker portion of thebladder is trapped between the cap and the neck, thereby creating a sealfor the cap.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the bladder has no sharpor small radius internal corners.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein thefill port is located at an angle on the top portion of the bladder,thereby creating a low profile.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein thecap has a hard stop upon closure, thereby allowing a user to determineproper sealing of the cap.
 16. The system of claim 1, further comprisingan internal drinking tube attached to the interior side of the outletport and extending toward the bottom of the bladder.
 17. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising an insulated cover having a flap, whereinthe insulated cover holds the bladder, and wherein the cap is accessiblefor filling with drinking fluid when the flap is in an open position.18. The system of claim 1, wherein the connector is adapted to attach toa gas mask.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein the connector is adaptedto attach to a mouthpiece.
 20. An improved personal hydration systemcapable of being used in environments containing nuclear, biological andchemical agents, the system comprising: an elastomeric bladder, forcontaining a drinking fluid, having an oversized fill port located onthe top portion of the bladder, wherein the bladder can be turned insideout through the fill port for cleaning and inspection purposes, whereinthe bladder has no sharp or small radius internal comers, and whereinthe bladder is constructed of butyl rubber; a neck having a base with atleast one deformable seal located on its top side and a threaded portionextending from the base, wherein the base is attached to the interiorside of the bladder at the fill port; a cap having an outlet port,wherein the cap is removably attached to the threaded portion of theneck, wherein a thicker portion of the bladder is trapped between thecap and the neck thereby creating a seal for the cap, and wherein thecap has a hard stop upon closure thereby allowing a user to determineproper sealing of the cap; a hose having an adjacent end and a distalend, wherein the adjacent end is attached to the outlet port; and thedistal end is attached to a connector; a shut-off device moveablypositioned on the hose between the outlet port and the connector; aninternal drinking tube attached to the interior side of the outlet portand extending toward the bottom of the bladder; and an insulated coverhaving a flap, wherein the insulated cover holds the bladder, andwherein the cap is accessible for filling with drinking fluid when theflap is in an open position.